Sergeant Hemin
by johno skywalker
Summary: Days in the life of an ODST of the famed Helljumper division chronicles this story of war and friendship set in the timeline of HALO
1. Installment 1: You want a piece of me?

**Glassed Former Farm Lands of Planet Harvest**

**March 27, 2528**

**Sgt. Hemin, Leroy J.**

**2****nd**** squad, 1****st**** platoon, Kangaroo Company, 3****rd**** battalion, 216****th**** Star Regiment, 105****th**** Helljumper Division**

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps**

"I'm done," I thought to myself. I had just witnessed the love of my life, a marine lieutenant of my company, get stabbed in the heart by an Elite with an energy sword. Little blood was oozing out due to the hot temperature of the energy sword drying the blood on impact.

"Susan!" I shouted as the Elite threw her to the glassed ground. After the Elite heard me shout he edged back a little.

"Come on, you son of a bitch!" I yelled to this orange-colored Elite who was clearly an infantry major.

"As you wish," mumbled the Elite. I ran toward him while opening fire with my MA37. My ammo counter went to zero in less than 5 seconds when I had just taken down his shields.

"Fight me! Fight me with your bare hands," I said to this eight foot tall creature. We both looked at each other with angered eyes when suddenly he pushed me to the ground and activated his energy sword.

I spat towards him and said, "Fuck you… and your race."

"This will be an honorable death for you, human," muttered the Elite. He raised his sword and swung…


	2. Installment 2: Along comes a Spartan

**Glassed Former Farm Lands of Planet Harvest**

**March 27, 2528**

**Sgt. Hemin, Leroy J.**

**2****nd**** squad, 1****st**** platoon, Kangaroo Company, 3****rd**** battalion, 216****th**** Star Regiment, 105****th**** Helljumper Division**

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps**

I spat towards him and said, "Fuck you… and your race."

"This will be an honorable death for you, human," muttered the Elite. He raised his sword and swung and as he swung a very large shadowy figure came out of nowhere and pushed him to the ground so hard the ground shook as if another glassing was occurring. I knew immediately what this figure was. I had heard the rumors. This…was a Spartan.

"Thank you sir," was the first words I said to the Spartan even though it was unknown to me his rank in the Navy. The mysterious being looked at me with its Mark IV helmet.

"Get out of here!" yelled the Spartan. I could see now that the white-colored figure was looking at the Elite, who was slowly getting up. So I sprinted towards Susan and picked her up. I put her on my back and slowly ran away to safety in the former terraces. I looked back for a split second and watched the Spartan take out his knife and slit the bastard's throat.

"Well I guess this isn't my day to die," I said out loud. I looked at Susan's wounds and said, "It's also not yours."


	3. Installment 3: The beginnings of a war

**UNSC Marine HQ on Harvest **

**March 27, 2528**

**Sgt. Hemin, Leroy J.**

**2****nd**** squad, 1****st**** platoon, Kangaroo Company, 3****rd**** battalion, 216****th**** Star Regiment, 105****th**** Helljumper Division**

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps**

"Come on! Help her!" I yelled to the medics. They were already knee-deep in my comrades on Harvest. But that didn't stop me from trying to get help for 2nd Lt. Susan Mackowitz. She was the only family I had left.

**Gladsheim, Harvest**

**Leroy Jeremiah Hemin**

**February 3****rd****, 2525**

The glassing that occurred on this planet three years ago took my entire family. Gladshiem was my home. It was destroyed by the god-forsaken Brutes. Whatever Attorney General Rol Pedersen saw in them, before he was shot in the chest with a spiker, was probably so small he had real good eyesight.

But I will never forget that day when my hatred for the Covenant began. As far as the eye could see after the glassing, thousands and thousands of Grunts, Jackals, and Buggers followed by a horde of Elites, swept through the planet annihilating any human in their way. What drove them to do this I asked? I do not know.

**New Jerusalem, Cygnus System**

**Staff Sergeant Hemin, Leroy J.**

**September 12, 2552**

**Awaiting shift to new unit in 105****th**** Helljumper Division**

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps**

Now I am a veteran of what people have called the Human-Covenant War. My friend, Susan died on Harvest. I'm finally bringing her remains to her home planet of New Jerusalem while I'm awaiting a new shift. I've made new friends. One of them is a rookie in the ODSTs and another is a guy named Gage Yevgenney who was also from Harvest.

Towards the start of the battle of New Jerusalem, Yevgenney and a few others disappeared near Mount Haven. I told the rookie to go check on them after a distress call was made. Then the unspeakable happened: Reach had been glassed. I knew Earth was next.


	4. Installment 4: Start of another battle

**New Jerusalem, Cygnus System**

**Platoon Staff Sergeant Hemin, Leroy J.**

**September 13, 2552**

**1****st**** platoon,**** Kangaroo Company, 3****rd**** battalion, 216****th**** Star Regiment,**** 105****th**** Helljumper Division**

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps**

"Everybody out! Come on! Evacuate your homes! The Covenant is coming!" I had heard that phrase too many times for over 25 years. We were evacuating the survivors of the initial attack from the west of the capital on the colony of New Jerusalem. Even though the Covenant had been slaughtered in that area, they would come back. They would always come back.

I had just put the rookie on handling little children on the transports when I heard the sonic pitch of a nuclear explosion. I looked up at Mount Haven and saw that it was literally coming down. I then looked at the rookie and saw that he was sleeping near one of the boxes.

"Hey sleepy-head, wake up!" I shouted to him, "Look up!" The rookie slowly moved his dazed head upward and saw that Mount Haven was falling down. He jumped in the air and started to finally do his job.

"Is it a glassing?" asked Corporal Jameson, a member of 2nd squad.

"No, there'd be a ship above," I said to him, "and we'd be dead already." To fully justify my facts I looked up and in my frightened state I saw a Covenant CCS battle cruiser.

"Everybody get on the fucking transports NOW!" I screamed to the colonists. And they listened. They ran to the transport freighters and filled them all up in less than 10 minutes when the glassing, 100 miles away, started.


	5. Installment 5: Sierra010

**Ruins of the Capital City of New Jerusalem, Cygnus System**

**Platoon Staff Sergeant Hemin, Leroy J.**

**September 13, 2552**

**1****st**** platoon,**** Kangaroo Company, 3****rd**** battalion, 216****th**** Star Regiment,**** 105****th**** Helljumper Division**

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps**

Six hours passed since I saw the first CCS battle cruiser appearing over the ruins of Mount Haven, I saw in the distance a figure which I immediately knew was the rookie without his helmet. His face wasn't scarred like the rest of us ODST's but I knew it would be in the future ahead.

"What have you been doing?" I asked.

"I just came from the other side of Haven, sarge," he replied catching his breath, "And by the way, this is for you." He handed me a journal with the initials "G.Y."

"Is he dead?" I asked, not trying to appear sad like I was in my mind since he was one of my closest friends.

"Yes," said J.D, "And so are all the other Helljumpers in our unit."

"Damn. Ok. We don't have much time. There's one more UNSC destroyer still waiting for us. We'll catch it and get the hell out of here and…"

"Sarge, look!" shouted J.D. A Phantom drop ship was landing towards the front lines of the former battle.

"Hide, hide," I quickly said quietly. The rookie and I ran towards a bombed-out house and hid under the windows. I looked over them to catch a glimpse of what they were doing. I had already heard rumors and reports that the Covenant were searching for something of another alien race. I had seen it on Harvest and many others. There was a rumor where Reach had one of these artifacts.

I went back down and at my foot saw another foot which appeared robotic , or at least I thought it was robotic, and got my newly-accustomed BR55 battle rifle cocked and locked when the figure with the foot in the darkness picked me up and put me down five feet of where I was once sitting.

"Shh," said the figure.

The figure then jumped out of the window and sprayed gunfire all over the two Elite leaders and squad of Grunts and Jackals. In one minute it was all over with the figure standing over the blood and corpses of the fallen Covenant infantry.

The figure looked back and in a female voice said, "How you doing? The name's Naomi."

This was a Spartan, of course.


	6. Installment 6: One ends, another begins

**Ruins of the Capital City of New Jerusalem, Cygnus System**

**Platoon Staff Sergeant Hemin, Leroy J.**

**September 13, 2552**

**1****st**** platoon,**** Kangaroo Company, 3****rd**** battalion, 216****th**** Star Regiment,**** 105****th**** Helljumper Division**

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps**

"The name's Naomi," said the Spartan. She then walked over to the Elite corpses and searched through their armor for probably one of those artifacts.

"What're you doing exactly?"I asked Naomi.

"Finding anything nice for Halsey," she replied. The rookie was staring in awe at the sight of this huge Spartan. He shook his head and came back to reality after I said hey.

"Who's Halsey?" asked the rookie still in a little bit of awe.

"She _was_ someone of significant importance towards us," said Naomi. It was like she had been practicing that line for some time with the way she said that sentence.

Naomi walked to one of the Grunt corpses. The fuck-faced creature had silver armor which denoted it as an ultra Grunt. She pulled a tiny stick-like object from one of the creases of the armor. She then called in a Hornet for evac.

After about 15 minutes, the Hornet came into the city towards our location. Naomi waved it in while the rookie was about to take a nap.

"Hey, sleepy-head! Wake up!" I shouted towards him. He jumped upward into action just as the Hornet landed. The pilot abruptly got out and said that a Covenant destroyer was headed their way. Naomi ran towards me in her Mark V armor and pulled me away for a quick chat.

"I never got your name Staff Sergeant," she said.

"It's Hemin ma'am," I said.

"Ok, Hemin, well we have a problem," she continued, "Since your rank is superior to mine, I have no choice but to tell you that the Covenant have found Earth." I looked at the barren helmet and asked if this was true and she said that she was the one responsible for the Covenant findings. She told me in less than two minutes, before the pilot told us to get a move on, that she failed to get onto a prowler whose crew died onboard from a radiation leak from a nearby glassing on the planet Coral. The frigate that she was on was destroyed by a super carrier and was lost with all hands. She was left drifting in space before she made an atmospheric jump into New Jerusalem.

"It wasn't your fault," I said, "You didn't have a choice in the matter."

Right when I completed my words of trying to comfort her, another phantom came out of the sky and fired its sonic gun towards our position. I could see with a sight glimpse of it that six Elites and two Hunters were jumping out of the holding area. The rookie got off the Hornet while I said to the pilot to get in the air and fire at them from the sky. He nodded and took off. Not one minute into the fight one of the Hunters fired its primary weapons at the Hornet. Screams were heard and the Hornet melted under the intense plasma being fired at it.

"Fuck-berries," I muttered, "Everyone get to cover now! Move!"

I looked at the other Hunter who I thought was staring at me and it appeared true since it was firing its assault cannon at me. Before I knew it, the rookie went in front of me, while Naomi jumped in the air and landed behind the Hunter. The other Hunter saw this and fired. The Spartan jumped back up into the air as the fiery plasma soaked into the Hunter's orange back. Naomi landed onto the shoulders of the Hunter, who fired, and ripped off its wormy head easily as if she was ripping paper. All this was happening while J.D. and I were firing at the Elites. Three fell while the other three used jet-packs to get back onto the Phantom when it, all of a sudden, exploded in a midst of purple and blue fire. Two other Phantoms were behind it and fired at the remaining Elites. The rookie was taking cover behind some rubble as I witnessed this spectacle in confusion.

"What the hell just happened?" I shouted to Naomi. The Phantoms landed and Brutes came out. I knew there was some type of feud going on between the two species of Elites and Brutes but this was now something very new.

The rookie and I fired at the Brutes just as the Phantoms left. We left one alive and questioned it.

"What's your name?" Naomi asked.

The Brute answered with a growl. Naomi took out her M6C magnum and fired a round into the Brute's face. Red mammalian blood splattered out onto my armor and I noticed a gaping hole in its face.

"What the fuck?" I asked.

"It wasn't answering," Naomi replied with an expressionless voice.

"Hey guys, look," said the rookie. A Pelican dropship was moving in and the pilot lifted up the glass cockpit once it landed.

"You guys look like you've been through hell," the pilot said with a female voice. I said yes and we all went into the Pelican's cargo hold.

Naomi said, "Earth is our last bastion now. Humanity will fall if Earth is glassed."

I replied, "Well then, I think now one of us probably has their last mission at hand. J.D., you're being transferred to another regiment. Your new commander to whack you when you're asleep is a guy named Buck. Good luck." I walked towards one of the boxes near the wall of the cargo hold and sat down. I took Gage's journal out of my armor and let out a few tears.

I whispered, "I'll be joining you along with Susan soon after this fight I bet. I've done my time. Us ODST's fought well but in the end I think the Spartans will have the last fight." I chuckled and fell asleep on the cold surface.


	7. Installment 7: Welcome to Earth

**UNSC Frigate **_**Forward Unto Dawn**_** in slipspace near Threshold system headed towards Earth**

**Staff Sergeant Hemin, Leroy J.**

**September 22, 2552**

**Awaiting shift to new unit of 105****th**** Helljumper Division stationed on Earth**

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps**

"Attention. External radiation and temperature levels are at maximum."

Even though I hated the A.I. who was running this ship, nothing worked out better when I was told something bad was happening. I walked quietly into the control area of the ship and surprisingly found one person, the pilot, in there.

"What's happening?" I asked him.

"Just some… wait," he replied with a frightened look, "There's a million degree spike in temperature in a lone area of space near the gas giant of Threshold. I'm calling down the captain." He went on the loudspeaker while I heard the A.I. Cab humming to itself.

The captain quickly awoke from his nap and sped down the halls to the bridge.

The pilot told him what was occurring and the captain replied with a solemn face and said, "Stand down. We must get to Earth. That is our number one priority."

I caught a glimpse of the data board before it was turned and thought I noticed a ring. That was very peculiar.

**UNSC Frigate **_**Forward Unto Dawn**_** in slipspace near Neptune headed towards Earth**

**Staff Sergeant Hemin, Leroy J.**

**October 21, 2552**

**Awaiting shift to new unit of 105****th**** Helljumper Division stationed on Earth**

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps**

"Sir, we have multiple readings of Covenant capital ships in the area around Earth. It appears they are mostly in the middle of the planet around Africa," finished the pilot.

"Alright," said the captain, "Full speed ahead into the battle. Let's give these Covvies our last moment in the universe a little more exciting."

**UNSC Frigate **_**Forward Unto Dawn**_** in orbit above Earth**

**Staff Sergeant Hemin, Leroy J.**

**October 21, 2552**

**Awaiting shift to new unit of 105****th**** Helljumper Division stationed on Earth**

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps**

"FIRE EVERYTHING!" yelled the captain. The _Dawn_ let loose its remaining MAC rounds and Shiva nukes toward the capital ships 300 kilometers off Earth. He then ordered Naomi and the ODST's to get into the drop pods and guide themselves towards Nairobi where an incoming transmission said that there were survivors holding off there. The rookie had already left and was stationed on board the UNSC Frigate _Say My Name. _Last I heard they had dropped somewhere over New Mombasa and were not heard from since then. God save 'em I thought.

The remaining troops and crewmembers of the _Dawn_ held off Covenant boarders while Naomi, the ODST's and I got into our drop pods. We shot out and I looked at my data board while my face was literally flying off my body. Many pods were getting obliterated by fire from both sides.

**Kenya, Earth**

**Staff Sergeant Hemin, Leroy J.**

**October 21, 2552**

**Awaiting shift to new unit of 105****th**** Helljumper Division stationed on Earth**

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps**

After 30 seconds, we hit the ground and my canopy shot up. I was met by no gunfire or plasma bursts. I looked at my data board again inside my pod and saw that I was where I was supposed to be. But Naomi was nowhere to be found as were the rest of my ODST's. I walked upwards towards the hill and witnessed a grand spectacle of amazement once I reached the top. A giant hole was being glassed by carriers.

Nairobi, though, was nowhere to be seen. I looked back towards my drop pod but instead saw two Brutes who immediately witnessed me standing on top of the hill.

They shot their spikers and maulers at me and at least three spikes went into my left leg as I was trying to flee. I got out my BR55 and fired a round into one of the Brute's head to make an amazing headshot. The remaining Brute roared at me and fired its spiker at my chest. The tips of the spikes only penetrated my skin because of my ODST armor. I got back up and took out a spiker from my leg in pain as the Brute was swinging the blade end of the Spiker at me. I jumped for my battle rifle on the ground and turned around and saw the Brute lunging towards me. In a split second, the barrel end of my rifle was inside the Brute's chest.

"Haha, what now bitch!" I said in a loud voice, "this gun's tougher than it looks." Suddenly the Brute roared and in an instant was choking me when his entire head exploded in blood and guts.

I wiped the blood off my helmet and saw a giant figure.

"Why does my luck always come to me in the form of a Spartan?" I asked the figure, who, of course, was Naomi holding a giant SRS99C-S2 AM sniper rifle.

"Nice of you to join us," she said. Behind her was the rest of the ODST's from the _Dawn_.

We walked away from the giant hole towards what we were hoping was Nairobi, Kenya to fight the rest of the Covenant assholes who were invading our native soil. The real battle, 27 years into the war, had now begun for us.


	8. Installment 8: Whoever said it was over?

**Three miles from Voi, Kenya, Earth**

**Gunnery Sergeant Hemin, Leroy J.**

**November 17th, 2552**

**7th Shock Troops Battalion, 105 Helljumper Division **

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps**

"Wraith, everybody down," said the point ODST quietly. A moving mortar platform or Wraith as we called it was moving towards our position. Naomi leapt up to our surprise and jumped towards the enemy vehicle. Since she was too close the Brute onboard instead fired its plasma turret at her. She jumped up onto the Wraith, but the Brute got out of its position and punched her off.

The Wraith speeded up until it had reached its maximum potential towards Naomi. She activated her bubble shield and the Wraith, at full speed, crashed into it and flipped in the air exploding and landed somewhere else about 500 feet from its original position.

"How'd you plan that perfectly?" the ODST next to me asked the Spartan.

"Actually, I guessed and hoped for the better. That right there was just luck. I thought my power lock would push back the Wraith if the bubble shield didn't and if neither worked then it would've been you guys taking care of it."

"Gunny, look!" yelled the ODST next to me while pointing up in the sky. A fireball of epic proportions was falling from the sky. A second, but smaller fireball was right below it, going slowly, and was looking as if it was headed towards the jungle near Kilimanjaro.

"Let's take a look," I said to the soldiers.

**Jungles near Mt. Kilimanjaro, Earth**

**Gunnery Sergeant Hemin, Leroy J.**

**November 17th, 2552**

**7th Shock Troops Battalion, 105 Helljumper Division **

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps**

While wading through the ocean of vegetation in the jungle, we came upon a large melted piece of metal.

"What happened here?" I wondered. Naomi took off her helmet and for the first time, I saw her battle scarred face. She looked like she knew what had happened here. For a moment, I thought she whispered the name John.

"Naomi?" I asked, "Do you know what happened?" She looked at me and plasma fire sprayed through the jungle at our position.

"Contact!"

"Where the fuck are they?"

"Come on you bastards! Fight us in the open!"

Fire and plasma was hitting the ODST's and the Spartan's shields. Naomi was firing her MA5B at the vegetation hoping to hit any enemies in her way. Grunts and Jackals then poured out onto us with hand-to-hand combat. We gained the upper hand until the Brutes showed up. They picked up the ODST's and threw them onto others. Blood of all sorts was painting the landscape of the jungle. Naomi took out her knife and threw it into a Brute's eye killing the son of a bitch. One ODST fired repeatedly into four Grunts, two Jackals, and five Brutes. He managed to kill them all except for two of the Brutes when they picked him up and ripped his neck off from its socket. I threw my knife at a Jackal, killing it, and then a Grunt jumped on my back. While it was ripping my back to shreds, I pulled the knife out of the Jackal and stabbed it in the Grunt's head, killing it also.

I looked around and saw a lone Brute running towards me. I threw my knife at its chest and, still, it kept on running. I then, in all my strength ran towards it and slid under its feet. I jumped onto its back and grabbed the knife and repeatedly stabbed it in the head. He pushed me off him and onto an assault rifle. I fired at its body, finally killing it. God, I hated these creatures I thought.

I looked around and saw corpses everywhere: Grunt, Jackal, Brute, and human. And in the midst of a mound of Brutes, Naomi was standing there.

When the smoke cleared, I knew only me, Naomi and a fellow ODST, who I refused to learn the name of due to more deaths, were alive.

I tore off my chest armor and saw a spiker round embedded in my abdomen. I took it out and poured loads of bio-foam into the wound. But I did not tell my fellow soldiers. We continued on our way, after we all cleaned our wounds and Naomi recharged her shields, but ended our trek once we got word that the battle for Earth was over and the survivors were heading towards Nairobi, finally. We called in a Pelican and it took us on our way to Nairobi.


	9. Installment 9: Last battle, first war

**In a Pelican dropship over Tsavo Highway headed to Nairobi, Kenya, Earth **

**Gunnery Sergeant Hemin, Leroy J.**

**November 17th, 2552**

**7th Shock Troops Battalion, 105 Helljumper Division**

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps**

"Is Sierra-010 onboard pilot?" asked a person on the radio who sounded a lot like Fleet Admiral Hood.

"Yes, sir, Lord Hood," said the pilot. I guess my assumptions were right.

"Then tell her that she's needed at ONI base 12 to be debriefed by code-name May Perry," said Hood.

"Yes, sir, right away sir," said the pilot. Naomi was behind us the whole time listening to the transmission and shaking her head.

"Who's May Perry?" I asked the pilot.

"That's classified inform…"

"It's alright," said Naomi.

"Ok then," concluded the pilot.

Naomi started by saying how this May Perry was ONI director Margaret Parangosky. She knew what the mission was but it wouldn't start until the war is truly over, she said. Here I am, wondering what the mission was, and all of a sudden she says "Hemin" and "we had some good times" and goodbye" and she jumps out after the pilot says clear to drop. I looked over the edge and wondered how I lost another friend. I thought of Susan, Gage, J.D., my family, and Naomi right when an incoming transmission on another secure channel was going on.

"What's the situation, ma'am?" I asked.

"Have you heard of the Elites and how we're siding with them against the rest of the Covvies? Well were going with them somewhere in their main carrier, the _Shadow of Intent_."

"Where we headed?"

"Don't know. But they say that were leaving immediately today."

I looked at the other ODST who had survived the battle and saw that he was sleeping. It reminded me of the rookie and made me chuckle a bit.

"Well that's a killjoy."


	10. Installment 10: Death bed

**Somewhere on Installation 00 (the Ark)**

**Gunnery Sergeant Hemin, Leroy J.**

**December 11, 2552**

**7th Shock Troops Battalion, 105 Helljumper Division**

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps**

The space battle overhead between the Elites and Brutes was going in the favor of the Elites with what we heard over the com. But our battle on land, this strange land outside the galaxy was not going in favor of the humans. Our Pelican crashed-landed and myself and three Marines were the only survivors. I was in command… again.

"Where do we go from here?" asked the youngest trooper.

I responded by saying, "Shut the hell up and just keep your eyes forward. We're looking for the rally point for the _Dawn_. From there we're going to try and find something called the Silent Cartographer with the Chief."

"Is that it," said the young one chuckling a bit. I looked at him with anger and distress signaling to him that now wasn't a good time to start something messy.

According to the map, which was salvaged from the Pelican, the Chief was somewhere these large hills to the right of us. I held up the "move forward" sign and at that same moment a group of floating mechanical beings came out of a hole in the mountain side. I remembered what they were called and also remembered that the floating smart-mouth named 343 something told the group that they were friendlies. But the armed men around me most likely did not remember that because they had their weapons cocked and locked and aimed at these so-called Sentinels.

"Hold your fire, you goddamn idiots," I said, "They're friendlies, remember?"

They breathed a sigh of relief and we went on our merry way towards the Master Chief.

**Pre-landing zone, occupied by Covenant, of the UNSC Frigate _Forward Unto Dawn_**

**Gunnery Sergeant Hemin, Leroy J.**

**December 11, 2552**

**7th Shock Troops Battalion, 105 Helljumper Division**

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps**

"We can't take much more of this," said Commander Miranda Keyes aboard the _Dawn_. They were engaged above the Ark while we were trying to make battle plans to take a Covenant base as a landing site for the _Dawn_. We had met up with the Chief at around 0800 hours.

"I'll take the right. You take the left," said the Chief.

"But there's twice as many on the right," one of my Marines said.

"You're right. They won't expect that," said the Chief, "but all we need is that site for the _Dawn _to land.

We started towards the left and fired our sniper rifles first at the Jackals on the watch towers. One by one, they fell. The Chief jumped onto a Wraith and put a fragmentation grenade in it while the Arbiter sliced Brutes and their Choppers with his energy sword.

We used our captured Ghosts to run over the remaining Brutes on the left by the watch tower. One of our guys was in a Ghost and it was blown up by a Chopper's hydrogen weapons.

Our main objective was to destroy the three Anti-Air Wraiths that were preventing the Dawn to land. We saw the Chief get on the gravity well of the second watchtower and assassinate the Grunts and Jackals on it. Immediately after that, a Brute fired up his plasma turret. The Chief easily took the bastard down with his battle rifle. The rest of the Brutes then opened fire on him.

I could see Sierra-117's shields trying to recharge but to no avail. At that point we opened fire for use of cover for the Chief while he and the Arbiter made their ways onto the AA Wraiths. The cover was successful with both soldiers putting plasma grenades into the Wraiths, destroying the vehicles, and having their personal shields recharged.

In the last leg of the skirmish, any humans and Elites present charged onto the hill and killed the remaining Brutes and Grunts with the loss of one human killed by a mauler to the throat. That one human was the youngest guy who survived the pelican crash with me in the beginning of our battle on the Ark.

I looked up as the _Dawn_ went into atmosphere and heard some of the soldiers asking if the ship was rated for atmosphere. It appears it was.


	11. installment 11: Finale Part 1

**The Silent Cartographer on the Ark**

**Gunnery Sergeant Hemin, Leroy J.**

**December 11, 2552**

**7th Shock Troops Battalion, 105 Helljumper Division**

**Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps**

I saw the Scarab move in for the kill on the Scorpion tank. The bastard was almost as big as Gladshiem I thought. It fired its primary plasma cannon at the tank and blew off its turret killing all onboard.

Next I saw the Chief move into a Forerunner building that the Scarab was next and which was also 200 feet from the Cartographer. Sierra-117, all of a sudden, jumped out onto the building's roof top on a Brute Chopper. It sped up onto the Scarab and the Chief jumped off onto the platform of it.

I grabbed a SRS99D-S2 AM sniper rifle and started picking targets on the Brutes and Grunts on the platform. All four shots I took with it killed the two Brute plasma turret gunners in the head, a Grunt, and lowered the Brute War Chieftain shields long enough for it to be killed by Master Chief.

I looked through the sights and saw a lone Brute heading towards the Chief who was destroying the Scarab's core. I took two shots with my reloaded weapon and finally hit the fucker in the head. I caught a glimpse of the Chief giving me the thumbs-up in thanks for me doing that.

Next thing I knew, the Scarab blew up like a Shiva nuke but without the emphasis on the nuke part.

We waited in the canyon of which the Cartographer lay while the Sergeant Major Johnson, the Arbiter, the Chief and a dozen Marines went in. We waited until only three came out...


	12. Installment 12: Finale Part 2

**Third Tower of the Shield Generator Encompassing the Ark's Control Room**

Gunnery Sergeant Hemin, Leroy J.

**December 11, 2552**

7th Shock Troops Battalion, 105 Helljumper Division

Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps

"Johnson, drop the Chief at the first generator, then head to the third. The Elites will punch right down the middle," said Commander Miranda Keyes on the com.

"Roger that," said Sergeant Major Johnson on the com. My platoon of ODST's and marines were making our way to the third tower of the shied generator to put an end to this conflict with the Covvies once and for all, when the Pelican dropships I was in got hit by anti-air fire from Wraiths.

"Move forward!" cried Johnson on the com directed towards both of his Pelicans under his command.

"Screw this," said my pilot.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Not dying."

"This is against the mission." I grabbed the controls and pushed them forward when the pilot took out her sidearm and aimed it at my head.

"Let go."

"No."

"I want to live." I could see the sweat pouring down her feminine neck. All of a sudden, our rear was hit by plasma fire and the next I thing I knew I was out cold.

I woke up 15 minutes later to see my comrades dead all around me. Their stomachs were open with charred organs and I could see the expressions on their faces the moments they died. I was in a forest moving towards the third tower in the distance when I saw a Grunt. I took out my sidearm and aimed it at the little bastard when I got knocked to the ground by a behemoth of a thing. It was a Brute, most likely, but when it got into the light formed by a hole in the roof of the forest, I could see what it truly was. A grotesque abomination, that was the size of a Brute and had the face of a Brute, looked at me.

"What…the…hell?" I murmured.

I could see in its tentacle of an arm that it had a spiker. It moved it up and fired one round into my chest…


End file.
